A Southern Blue Ridge Mountain Wedding | Chattanooga Wedding Photographer
Having a wedding during a pandemic isn’t easy on anyone involved. It attempted to steal so much joy from Danae & Scot’s wedding at a Blue Ridge Mountain wedding venue. In some areas it undoubtedly did. How could it not?! But Danae & Scot inspired me throughout the planning process and on their wedding day. Their wedding day was still so special and filled with DIY details and gorgeous mountain views!
Because of the coronavirus, many of their original life and wedding plans fell through. Their original wedding date was postponed by a month, and because of logistics and life, they eloped in May on a gorgeous pier in Michigan. They were able to enjoy a honeymoon across the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. (Still so jealous about this!)
Before the coronavirus, Danae & Scot had begun using their fantastic artistic abilities and resourcefulness to DIY many parts of their wedding details—hand-painting invitations and canvases for the ceremony aisles; building the ceremony arbor, ceremony seating, and reception center pieces; reception table seating chart; and I’m sure so, so, so much more that may be slipping my mommy brain! From the beginning, I knew their wedding was going to be stunning and extra special!
I wasn’t wrong, but Danae & Scot ended up having to be even more creative and resourceful with their planning once the coronavirus began shutting down business and making large group gatherings questionable. Unfortunately, several of their vendors were unable to provide their services, but somehow they pulled EVERYTHING off, even with much of it being last minute!
One of the best examples of all the many labors of love for Danae & Scot’s Wedding Day was the family-style dinner at the reception. This meal style was chosen to keep guests as safe as possible, but the caterer cancelled last minute! So, the family prepared and served the meals themselves!!! Danae’s mother also ended up having to make and decorate the wedding cake!!! I’ve been in awe of the amount of work it must’ve took!
I’m still in disbelief how their wedding timeline worked out. I still can’t believe what happened JUST as we finished the LARGE list of family formals…it started POURING!!! We couldn’t have had better timing! We all ran to our cars and drove to the reception location, which the storm hadn’t reached yet. Cue thankfulness and slight panic…
Because of some logistics, our pre-ceremony timeline got thrown off. So, the two, 30-minute blocks of portrait time we had scheduled turned into about a 15-minute window to capture ALL of their Bride & Groom portraits at the reception site before the downpour found us again! I’m really proud of what we were able to make happen despite the tight window of time and full sun (really challenging light for a photographer)! So thankful for the power of a posing system and lots of practice! And of course the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountain wedding venue that made it insanely gorgeous! 🙂
Okay, I need to wrap this up, don’t I? I really could keep writing about what it took to make this wedding happening, how fun Danae & Scot are, and how sacrificial their family is, but I want you to see their images of their Southern Blue Ridge Mountain wedding!!!
Danae & Scot – What a labor of love your day was! You poured your hearts into it, and so did those who cherish you. I hope these images make you proud and do all your hard work justice! We love you!
Ceremony Venue: Private hay field in Mineral Bluff, Georgia
Reception Venue: Hoist House at the Ducktown Basin Museum
Dress: Candler Budget Bridal
Ring: Fox and Beaux
Florals: Kim Henski & family
Invitation: Hand painted by Danae, copied and printed by LithoTech
Make-up: Stefani from Urban Salon in Murphy, North Carolina
Hair: Chelsea Nessel
Day-of coordinator: Kim Henski
Cake: Nancy Church
